During the past 30 years, what we used to call ââ¬Ëthe passing show of existenceâ⬙ has turned into a global torrent of electronic communication and cultural change. Everywhere, Tradition is collapsing. Local fundamentalist reactions ââ¬" hailed by some as evidence that ââ¬ËGod is backâ⬙ ââ¬" cannot hope to stem the flood. They are merely symptoms of faithâ⬙s increasing desperation. In our time, Don Cupitt says, religion is no longer about gaining immortality, or the forgiveness of our sins: it is about becoming reconciled to our life's transience, to time and death. This ultra-clear and secular 'theology' therefore centres around the image of 'The Fountain', which close-up, is all noisy, rushing transience, but when we step back becomes a healing, unifying symbol of life's perpetual self-renewal. This is religious thought with no supernatural world, and with none of the local divine names. But it works.
